You’ve probably heard the expression before… if people don’t get things done it’s either because they don’t know what to do or they don’t know how to do it. Good sales managers know that setting a goal (what to do) for the team is important to drive success. But the best sales leaders know there is more to it […]
Conflict was the next topic for the class. I asked for a volunteer to stand next to me and make a fist. With no other directions to my volunteer, I made a fist and placed my knuckles directly against his. Slowly I pushed my knuckles into his with greater pressure. As I leaned more into his fist […]
My wife calls me at home and says, “Russ, I’m lost! Must be solar flares or something because neither of my gps devices are working. I need you to give me directions so I can get home.” Before I can give her any directions, what is my first question for her? “Where are you?” That’s right! It […]
Have you ever had a prospect become non-responsive right before you close the sale? Have you ever experienced a failure and wondered how you could’ve prevented it? You can avoid the potential paralysis of these situations by leveraging three forms of reasoning. I’m not a scholar of classic rhetoric and I don’t pretend to be one on […]
The salesman at my front door held out the vile and said, “Fill this with some water from your tap and I’ll show you what you’re drinking.” The football game wasn’t on for another 20 minutes so I was game. I also had a question in my head, “What am I drinking!?” After returning the tap […]
In every Corporate Ovations workshop I deliver, I ask my students, “How many of you want me to show 125 slides full of text, then turn my back and read to you?” It’s no surprise, the response is always zero. Then I ask a follow-up question… “How many of you still see people doing that?” 100% of […]
The Disney World attendant reached out her hand toward my crying son and said, “Russell… will you come with me please?” Earlier we had asked about getting Peter Pan’s autograph and we were told he would not be signing autographs today, but he would be in the parade down Main Street USA. Peter Pan was […]
It’s the classic tale where the unlikely hero saves the day. We’ve seen it in many Hollywood summer blockbusters like Transformers, Independence Day, and Apollo 13. While most of the time these popcorn blockbusters are known for one-liners and lots of action, what you may not realize is how the unlikely hero uses classic rhetoric to save […]
To combat the root of all evil we need to go to the beginning. You probably all know the story. Adam and Eve eat the apple (fruit) which they weren’t supposed to eat, and that’s the first sin. If we dig deeper into the details, we can find some useful lessons for the sales professional in […]
